1h30 to connect Paris with New York in a hypersonic plane that flies on hydrogen. The proposal can make some dream even if marketing is not for now.
The promise also includes flights Paris-Singapore in 3h15 or Paris-Sydney in 4h30. That’s twice as fast as the Concorde at three times the altitude of commercial flights.
All carbon free. “The fossil is over, we are all in this energy transition,” cuts the deputy director general. Destinus devices fly on liquid hydrogen.
But be patient, it is currently not possible to transport passengers with these devices. At the moment, “we are demonstrating step by step the ability to obtain the technologies we need,” explains Jean-Philippe Girault. “We have a progressive roadmap to mature and develop the certification rules that will be useful.”
“Democratize the offer”
“These rules, for the moment, do not exist for our project, they remain to be built together with EASA and Eurocontrol. This is the working group we are in”, explains Jean Philippe Girault.
The Destinus S, the first hypersonic aircraft, should be launched in 2030. Starting in 2040, the Destinus L could carry 300 to 400 passengers, like an A380.
Initially, the prices will be very high: the Paris-New-York at 8000 euros. “The idea is then to democratize the offer and break costs.”
At this stage, the question of autonomous devices remains to be discussed: will a pilot be required on these devices or not? “We meet again in ten years”, concludes Jean Philippe Girault.
Source: BFM TV
